Multimedia Library

Hear our expert staff and Members speak on topics ranging from practical strategies in hedge fund investing to the importance of education in the alternatives space.

Following an exceptional run in 2021 and early 2022, the SPAC market cooled off through 2023. We are starting to see a return to normalcy and renewed activity with SPACs. In this market check-in webcast, we connected with Nick Skibo of Gritstone Asset Management, Tom Hennessy of Hennessy Capital Growth Partners, and Douglas Ellenoff of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, to discuss the state of the market for SPACs and the opportunity set for investors.

There's never been a more crucial time to stay relevant and ahead of the curve. Join our CAIA Korea Financial Data Professional (FDP) webinar to understand the growing roles of big data, data mining, workflow automation and machine learning in investment decisions and learn more about our FDP program.

This webinar was conducted in Korean.

Listen in on a conversation with CAIA's Managing Director, APAC, Jo Murphy and Director of Content, APAC, Jack Wu on the current market and education's place in this complex environment, whilst keeping you informed of the current market growth alongside where career prospects are within the sector.

Further, as an “Accredited Provider” under the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) Standards, CAIA Participants - meeting eligibility criteria – have the option to pursue reimbursable funding for the CAIA Charter. Time was spent touching on this during the discussion too.

Jo and Jack also provided an introduction to the CAIA Qualification in anticipation of the September 2021 exam early bird registration closing on May 17.

Ronan Crosson, CFA of Eagle Alpha and Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP of CAIA Association discuss the steps towards integrating alternative data sets into private equity analysis. In this short video, they discuss issues such as culture from the top of organizations, building a robust team, and just getting started. For more, read the first of a series of posts Ronan will be contributing to the CAIA blog here.

The investment industry speaks about the “60/40” portfolio so much that it is largely assumed to be the “correct” portfolio for a large number of investors. However, it describes modern asset allocation about as well as Happy Days did the 1950s or Friends the 1990s. (Great shows both – but a bit detached from the real world.) To be fair, the 60/40 portfolio can be a useful starting point to illustrate the pros and cons of additional asset classes and/or alternate portfolio construction approaches. Furthermore, it demonstrates some of the critical foundations of modern asset allocation: stocks provide a high long-term return expectation, while bonds provide diversification through negative correlation and lower volatility. Today, the asset and wealth management industry largely agrees that the 60/40 portfolio will not deliver the same outcome as it has in the past. This is forcing investors of all kinds to consider new and/or larger allocations to alternative asset classes and strategies, but that leads to a key question: if not 60/40, then what?

There has been tremendous activity in the SPAC market in 2020 and 2021, a time when more than half of the IPO activity has been attributable to the issuance of new SPACs. CAIA’s Keith Black, PhD, CAIA, CFA, FDP, Managing Director, Content Strategy, and Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP, Director, Global Content Development, discuss Keith’s recent blog post on SPACs, offering insight into their how arbitrageurs, shareholders, and private companies might consider them. Listen to their conversation and read more on the blog here.

New research from CAIA Association suggests that investors place higher emphasis on qualitative factors when performing due diligence on private capital managers, a stark contrast to the quantitative factors typically emphasized with hedge funds and traditional investment managers. This panel answers the following questions: What are the most important questions to ask during the manager research process? What are the most important qualitative factors to consider? What are some of the biggest differences between performing investment and operational due diligence on liquid strategies vs. illiquid strategies?

African private markets probably present the premier opportunity for investing to contribute to the UN's SDGs while also creating attractive financial returns. The potential for bringing solutions for the bottom billion, leveraging Africa's mobile infrastructure, is vast and being used by a lively and creative venture community with increasing numbers of later stage opportunities and the emergence of unicorns such as Zipline and Flutterwave. At the same time, larger buyout and growth equity opportunities in sectors such as agribusiness and related logistics, distribution, and financial services companies are creating the potential for delivering impact at scale. Impact potential includes improvements in ESG, job creation, waste reduction, and the benefits of their products, such as fertilizers and other agricultural inputs.

Bill Kelly talks with "Alts Goes Mainstream" podcast host Michael Sidgmore about the importance of being a responsible fiduciary, his start in the industry, and what it taught him about always asking: what does it mean to the end client? Listen in!

The future of sustainable investing is in the balance. It involves balancing financial and extra-financial considerations, balancing short-term and long-term goals, and balancing interests among stakeholders and over time, while seeking fair outcomes for all. How do investment professionals take the next step to apply these practices in their daily activities? How can investment organizations better align their culture and incentives around solving sustainability issues? This conversation between Rebecca Fender, CFA of CFA Institute and Carol Jeppesen, CAIA of the PRI discusses the influencers, drivers, enablers, and action steps of building a robust sustainable investment program.

View Slide Presentation Here

Culture, Communication, and Common Ground: How Managers and Investors Can Start Speaking the Same Language.

Stacy Havener, Founder and CEO of Havener Capital Partners and Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP, CAIA's Director of Global Content Development discuss organizational culture, emerging managers, and how assessing soft skills can help make for a more informed allocation decision.

Get more insights on the due diligence process at our Due Diligence resource page.